Walking the Snowmobile Trails

A few days ago, my dear husband (to whom I will refer to as my DH) and I found some interesting snowmobile trails and decided to follow them.  The skies were overcast, a little bit gray, but the weather was relatively warm, in the high 30s, perhaps 38 degrees or so.  It made for great hiking weather. 

The snow was melting pretty quickly.  I'm sure a couple of weeks ago you wouldn't have been able to see these rock outcroppings.  It seems that the rock heats up quicker than the ground, and therefore when the snow begins to melt, it is usually the rocks that appear first.

The deer had been here before us, their trails were everywhere.

We followed the trails which led to a bubbling brook, still singing happily in the middle of winter.  Its banks were snow covered, but it still rushed on downstream with a sweet happy sound. I love to come to brooks, and streams! And ... the deer and moose love them for obvious reasons too!  The tracks were abundant all around the edge of the stream, and there were several favorite spots where you could see they had found the perfect spot to come in for a fresh drink of water.

The deer weren't the only ones inhabiting this beautiful place. We saw lots of evidence of other wildlife out here too... beavers!  Hard working beavers too!  We found quite a few really nice trees that these industrious creatures had chewed to sharp stumps left in the water.

Snow and ice didn't matter to these busy fellows!  It must be nice to have such a warm coat of fur as to be in and out of the cold icy water, and still survive! 

Here is the dam they had built across the stream using the logs they sawed down.  They had quite a huge backed up pond created by their dam!  We waited patiently hoping to get a glimpse of the busy beavers .... but nary a sighting of them... although their handiwork was abundant!

You could see all over the pond where the beavers had been very, very busy.  It was a really amazing thing to see the quiet life and stillness of this pond. I'm sure the activity here is quite profound, if you get here at the right time, probably dawn and dusk. 

This is a hill overlooking the pond.  What a beautiful spot it was!

There had been many, many animals here before us!  The whole area was covered with tracks of various animals - and I can't say I blame them... the water was amazing!

As we followed the trails, we caught a glimpse of the Selkirk mountains off in the distance.  The cloud cover was pretty heavy today, so we didn't get a really clear view. 

The deer tracks took off in various directions through the woods. I would like to come back and follow some of these deer tracks.  They always lead to such interesting places!

 Someone had erected rocks here so that vehicles couldn't come up here, it is a road only meant for off-road vehicles like snowmobiles. 

Another picture of the brook as we were leaving. The trail crossed over the brook as we were leaving.

We had a great workout on this hike.  The snow was melting, which meant that every step you took, you kinda ... just... sank.... This puts a lot of strain on muscles you don't even know you have. It is quite similar to walking on the beach barefoot.  You put your foot down, and nothing there to support it and it just sinks, and sinks and sinks... sometimes up past your knees. 

We felt refreshed after visiting this beautiful place via the snowmobile trails.  I tell you.. you just never know WHERE a trail is going to take you!  If  your heart and muscles are up to the excitement... there is no better way to really get some exercise, and just enjoy the beauty of nature, God's creative designs presented at their best!